Psychology 2000 LSU Tucker Exam 3

Mental Images

Mental representations that stand for objects or events and have a picture-like quality

Concept

ideas that represent a class or group of objects, events, or activities that share common characteristics or attributes

Formal Concepts

concepts formed by learning the specific rules of features that define it (acquired in school) EX: A square

Natural Concepts

concepts formed as a result of people's experience in the real world (we form these concepts and a general set of features) EX: birds, fruits

Prototype

An example that closely matches the defining characteristics (or common features) of a concept

Prototypes develop according to..

the exposure a person has to objects in a category, the knowledge a person has about objects in a category and the culture of a person

Decision Making

process of evaluating alternatives and choosing among them

Problem Solving

the thoughts and actions required to achieve a certain goal

Trial and Error

Mechanical Solution
One possible solution after another is tried until a successful one is found

Algorithms

very specific, step-by-step procedures for solving problems and always result in the correct answer (mathematical formulas)

Heuristic

an educated guess based on prior experience that helps narrow down the possible solutions for a problem ("Rule of Thumb")

Representativeness Heuristic

Tendency to judge an event by the extent to which it resembles the typical case (Older lady = perceive them to have granny-like qualities)

Availability Heuristic

Estimating the frequency or likelihood based on how easy it is to recall relevant info from memory or how easy it is to think of related examples ("pop into your head" if you've been recently thinking about it)

Functional Fixedness

thinking about objects only in terms of their typical functions

Mental Set

the tendency for people to persist in using problem-solving patterns that have worked for them in the past

Confirmation Bias

the tendency to search for evidence that fits one's beliefs while ignoring any evidence that does not fit those beliefs (horoscopes)

Creativity

the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable

Convergent Thinking

type of thinking in which a problem is seen as having one answer, and all lines of thinking will eventually lead to that single answer by using pervious knowledge and logic

Divergent Thinking ( a kind of creativity )

type of thinking in which a person starts from one point and comes up with many different ideas or possibilities based on that point

Intelligence

the ability to learn from experience, acquire knowledge, and use resources in adapting to new situations or solving problems

Reification

viewing an abstract immaterial concept as if it were a concrete thing (love)

Spearman's Theory

saw intelligence as two different abilities

G (general) factor

the ability to reason and solve problems

S (specific) factor

the ability to excel in certain areas

Fluid Intelligence

natural ability to solve problems (relatively uninfluenced by experience)

Crystallized intelligence

knowledge and abilities acquired through experience (vocabulary)

Who came up with a theory of 7 intelligence and later added two more?

Gardner

Triarchic Theroy

Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence states that there are 3 kinds of intelligences
1. analytical
2. Creative
3. Practical

Analytical

the ability to break own problems down into component parts and tend to perform well on standardized tests (high g)

Creative Intelligence

the ability to deal with new and different concepts and how well they cope with task ("quick learner")

Practical Intelligence

the ability to use info to get along in life and become successful and size up a situation and act accordingly ("street smarts")

Emotional Intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand and use emotions (Salovey and colleagues, 2005)

what 3 concepts make a good test?

reliability, validity and standardization

Reliability

produce similar scores from one test time to the next

validity

how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure

standardization

administering the test to a representative sample of future test takers in order to establish a basis for meaningful comparison

What is IQ?

Intelligence quotient

What was the practical goal of the IQ test?

help those identified as potentially having trouble in school

Who created the IQ test?

Binet and Simon

How is IQ calculated?

(mental age/ chronological age) *100

What is the average, disability, and gifted IQ score?

100
below 70
above 130

Flynn Effect

Why our IQ levels are higher than our grandparents?

Language

an open and symbolic communication system that has rules of grammar and allows its users to express abstract ideas

Symbolic (language)

no connection between a sound and the meaning or idea with associated with it

What areas of the brain are associated with language abilities?

Broca's area

What are the aspects of Language?

phonology
semantics
syntax
pragmatics

phonology

the structure of sounds that can be used to produce words in a language

phonemes

the smallest distinctive sound unit in a spoken language the basic building blocks of speech sounds)

Morphemes

smallest units of meaning in a language (pre-view-ed)

Grammar

a system of rules that governs the structure an use of language

Semantics

rules for determining the meaning of words and sentences (adding -ed to make it past tense)

Syntax

the rules for ordering words into grammatically correct (sensible) sentences (white house, spanish : house white)

Pragmatics

the practical aspects of communicating with others, or social "niceties" of language (taking turns, talking to a friend vs. a parent)

Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis (Vygotsky)

the theory that the language a person speaks largely determines the nature of that person's thoughts

Cognitive Universalism

the theory that concepts are universal and influence the development of language

Neuropsychology

specialization within clinical psychology that focuses on brain-behavior relationships

stress

the physiological and psychological response to conditions that threaten or challenge

Stressors

events that cause a stress reaction

Distress

unpleasant and undesirable stressors

Eustress

positive events, or the optimal amount of stress that people need to promote health and well-being

Three causes of Stress

Catastrophes, major life changes and hassles

Catastrophe

unpredictable, large-scaled event, creates a tremendous need to adapt and overwhelming feelings of threat

Major Life Change

cause stress by requiring adjustment

Hassles

daily annoyances of life (misplacing your keys)

Acculturative Stress

psychological impact of adapting to a new culture (all of a sudden became active duty military)

Avoidance-Avoidance

two undesirable goals and more stressful that approach-approach (going to the dentist or having a tooth ache)

Approach-Approach

two desirable goals (wendy's or taco bell?)

Approach-Avoidance

the (one) goal has positive and negative aspects and is very difficult (taking a new job with higher pay but have to move to your least favorite city)

Double Approach-Avoidance

two goals have positive and negative aspects (psychology vs. biology major)

Multiple Approach-Avoidance

More than two goals all have positive and negative aspects (picking a college)

Autonomic Nervous System

sympathetic and parasympathetic

Sympathetic

fight or flight responds to stress

Parasympathetic

rest and digest body returns normal after stress

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

the stages of how the body changes during stress
1. Alarm
2. Resistance
3. Exhaustion

Psychoneuroimmunology

study of how psychological factors impact the immune system

Cognitive Appraisal Approach

how people think about a stressor determines how stressful it is

Primary Appraisal

estimate the severity of the potential stressor (threat or challenge?)

Secondary Appraisal

only for threats (how are you going to cope with the stressor?)

Optimists

expect positive outcomes (cognitive appraisal: More challenges)

Pessimists

Expect negative outcomes (cognitive appraisal: More threats)

Differences

optimists tend to be more health conscious and pessimists are more likely to be depressed

What happens to your body during the alarm stage of GAS?

heart rate increases, palms get sweaty and energy is increased

What happens to you body during the Resistance stage of GAS?

blood pressure remains high

What happens to your body during the exhaustion stage or GAS?

fatigue

True or false. During Primary appraisal your body has already determined whether the potential stressor is a challenge or threat.

False

True or False. If sufficient resources are provided after secondary appraisal, stress is not present.

True

Emotional Coping

how you deal with the problem through expressing your emotions

Problem Coping

active about the problem and dealing with it through acting (logical way)

Davidson Study

Mindfulness

Social Psychology

the branch of psychology that studies how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others

Conformity

changing your behavior to match others

Groupthink

placing more importance on maintaining group cohesiveness that on assessing the facts of a problem (every one but you wants sushi)

Foot-in-the-door

"can you pick me up from the airport?" yes
"can you also take care of my cat and take me to pick up my car?"

Door-in-the-face

"can you take care of my cat and take me to pick up my car?" -no
"Can you pick me up from the airport?"

Lowball

"can you pick me up from the airport?" -yes
"the airport is in Florida"

Obedience

changing your behavior at the command of an authority figure

Attitude

the tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain person, object, idea, or situation

three components of attitudes

affective: emotions, feelings
cognitive: thoughts, beliefs
behavioral: intentions, past behavior

Cognitive Dissonance

when an attitude and a behavior are inconsistent

Impression Formation

what we think of someone else after meeting them